ENGL E640 Invader 150 Head

This is an amp that makes any one who turns it on go straight to metal riffing. This is the 150 version of the Invader. This is one heck of an amp. It is a amp that plays hard and is meant for the mot demanding metal gurus.

As much as the majority of the Engl line up is more for metal players, this amp is a bit more tamed for more general musical styles. It does has four channels including a clean, crunch, rhythm, and lead. he voicing is more towards the general rock scene rather than the ultra metal scene. You get more coverage with this amp in my opinion than some of the uber high metal gainers.

UTILIZATION


Specifications

Preamp:
4 channels. four 3-stage EQs incl. logarithmic treble curve, Bright switch for Channels 1 and 2, separate Gain and Volume controls for each channel, Hi / Lo Gain switch, Noise Gate with threshold adjust, 2 parallel FX loops, 4 x ECC 83 / 12 AX 7 preamp tubes. Tuner out activated via standby switch.

Master Section:
150 watts (6 EL 34 tubes), Master A / B switch, Presence and Depth Punch control for power amp soundshaping, electronic tube protection circuit and powertube monitoring system.

Outputs:
MIDI IN / THRU, jack for ENGL Z-9 footswitch, jack for ENGL Z-4 / Z-3 footswitch, 2 x FX Send, 2 x FX Return, 2 x FX Balance, preamp out / tuner, line out / power amp, speaker outs 2 x 4, 2 x 8, 1 x 16 ohms

MIDI programmable functions at a glance, storable in any combination as required:
Channel switching, Master A / B, Bright, Hi / Lo Gain, FX Loop 1 and 2, noise gate, amp mute (tuner)

Dimensions & Weight:
71 x 27 x 29 cm, 25 kg

SOUNDS

The clean channel is very good and usable for its chimy tone. However, the amp lives in the lead channel. These Engl amps feature the high gain tone and they do it quite well. Try this amp out with a lower tuning and you'll see and hear why so many metal professionals come to Engl for their amplifier needs. This amp is more for the general player but it still has that German metal voicing.

This is a very loud amplifier. It has a lot of power through 150 watts and packs quite a punch. You don't have to turn these amps up too much in the distortion or gain. They have so much gain that a lot of it is virtually unusable. Too much gain will not fit in a band mix very well. You will have problems cutting through the mix. I would recommend turning the gain down a bit when you are on stage with the band.

OVERALL OPINION

These are great amps for the money if you can afford them. They come in new for right at around $3000. That is a lot of money for most people including myself. This is an amp that is harder to get a hold of since a lot of places don't carry them. You can find them online pretty easily but you won't get any time to try it out before you buy it.

Engl is a company that excels at making those over compressed metal voicing amp for straight ahead metal tuning and drop tunings. This amp is an amp that makes a Marshall look like child's play. I am not this kin of a metal guy but these amps are very cool. They have a great voicing and tone that is unmatched by any other company out there.

However, compared to the Special edition amps this one caters more towards a classic British style amp. It does has four channels including a clean, crunch, rhythm, and lead. he voicing is more towards the general rock scene rather than the ultra metal scene. You get more coverage with this amp in my opinion than some of the uber high metal gainers.

UTILIZATION

Preamp:
4 channels. four 3-stage EQs incl. logarithmic treble curve, Bright switch for Channels 1 and 2, separate Gain and Volume controls for each channel, Hi / Lo Gain switch, Noise Gate with threshold adjust, 2 parallel FX loops, 4 x ECC 83 / 12 AX 7 preamp tubes. Tuner out activated via standby switch.

Master Section:
150 watts (6 EL 34 tubes), Master A / B switch, Presence and Depth Punch control for power amp soundshaping, electronic tube protection circuit and powertube monitoring system.

Outputs:
MIDI IN / THRU, jack for ENGL Z-9 footswitch, jack for ENGL Z-4 / Z-3 footswitch, 2 x FX Send, 2 x FX Return, 2 x FX Balance, preamp out / tuner, line out / power amp, speaker outs 2 x 4, 2 x 8, 1 x 16 ohms

MIDI programmable functions at a glance, storable in any combination as required:
Channel switching, Master A / B, Bright, Hi / Lo Gain, FX Loop 1 and 2, noise gate, amp mute (tuner)

Dimensions & Weight:
71 x 27 x 29 cm, 25 kg

SOUNDS

I am really liking to the tone of this amp. You get a solid clean tone the works for sparkling cleans all the way up to blues based tones. The crunch channel is good AC/Dc type tones and basically any kind of 70p's rock tones. This is a great channel for covers as well since it has a general crunch tone that works well with effects such as delays and choruses. If you player a lot of covers or just play a more mainstream rock then this channel will be right up your ally. The next channel is the rhythm channel and this is a nice high gain crunch channel. This can cover a lot of ground including 80's hard rock and metal all the way up to today's more modern type tones. The finally channel is the lead channel which more voiced towards lead playing and sols. This channels has a nigher upper mid section so the toes cut through the mix a lot better.

OVERALL OPINION

You can find these amps new right at around $2999, which may a bit high for most people but this is more towards professional touring artists and musicians who know what they want. This is a great all around amps for a lot of styles of music. I would recommend this amp to any one who needs a good workhorse amp that gets a great all around tone for basically any kind of music.

The ENGL Invader 150 is one of the newer amps that ENGL offers. It features many of the features that the Powerball features, but this amp runs on EL34s. It has four completely independent channels, multiple effects loops, is fully MIDI enabled, has a line out and a preamp out jack.

UTILIZATION

ENGL is listening to customer opinions and finally offered a fully independent four channel amplifier. Where as the SE series has some shared controls, this has a knob for every channel. It can seem a bit daunting at first glance, but it's very easy to dial in and get a great tone. There are less mini switches on this for voicing changes, so it's also a bit easier to find a great tone than the others, in my opinion.

SOUNDS

This ENGL is a bit more organic than the others in the line up. I find it takes pedals better, offers a better clean and mid gain crunch as well. The amplifier really can do any tone ranging from country all the way to the most brutal death metal out there. The main difference that everyone wants to know is the difference between the 100 and 150. I haven't tried them back to back, but I hear there's a difference in the way the bright switch works. One thing I did notice, besides the 100 watter being cheaper, is that the 150 watt seems to rely more on preamp distortion, so it tends to stay a bit "cleaner" sounding where as the 100 watter actually sounds bigger thanks to the power amp distortion assisting everything.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for one of the more versatile ENGLs out there, I recommend checking this amplifier out. I also actually recommend the 100 over the 150 as the differences are a bit minimal, aside from the price. That said, if you're looking for a "cleaner" sounding gain, the 150 will probably suit you better.

I present to you my opinion on the amp I have now replaced my previous head (ENGL Savage Special Edition, on which you can also read my review AF): ENGL Invader 150.

I absolutely will not detail all the features of the amp. You can visit the site to get ENGL. But very quickly:

- It is an all tube amp, mounted with four 12AX7 preamp and six EL34 power: it gives him the power of 150 Watts claimed by name. In other words, more than enough to move buildings and houses an entire neighborhood ...

- It also has four completely independent channels: gain, bass, middle, treble, volume for each channel, two master volume and a control bass and treble at the power amp: Presence and Depth Punch.

- There are also two buttons, "Bright" and "High gain", which modify the curve of medium-treble on channels 1 and 2 for the first, and the gain (while digging a little medium as well) on for the second four channels.

- Two parallel series of loops effects / that can be selected independently of one another, can not put the two together.

- An integrated noise gate: but I do not use it ... so I will not go in my opinion, even if it is not excellent, while useful if you do it on hand ...

- The receiver can be controlled via midi: I use a pedal ENGL Z-15 for control (and it has the merit of being self-powered by the amp head) and my Tc Electronic G- plugged into the effects loop strength. Via MIDI, channels, switches and bright high-gain control on the choice of master volume, effects loops (loop 1: on / off or loop 2: on / off ... but not loop 1: on + loop 2 on ... shame ...).

- 25 kg, impeccable construction, aesthetics a little flashy with chrome control plate, and all faders and 10 lamps can be seen shining inside the head, retro -lit with a series of blue LEDs for a beautiful effect.

It is a high-end hardware, a remarkable quality.

UTILIZATION

Writing to come in very little time ...

SOUNDS

Writing to come in very little time ...

OVERALL OPINION

Writing to come in very little time ...


Thank you for your understanding.